Indian media reports that the Indian Air Force has proposed to the Ministry of Defense the purchase of 114 Indian-made Rafale fighters to meet defense needs, with discussions having begun between India and France. This military purchase involves two trillion Indian rupees, approximately 22.6 billion US dollars. If this procurement plan is finalized, it will be India’s largest defense order to date.
If the plan is implemented, it will increase India’s total number of Rafale fighters to 176. Currently, the Indian Air Force has already inducted 36 Rafale fighters, and the Navy has ordered 26.
These fighters will be jointly built by French Dassault Aviation and Indian aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics, with 60% to be produced in India. Dassault has already established a maintenance facility in India and plans to set up an engine factory in Hyderabad, which will be beneficial for India’s introduction of new technologies.
The Rafale fighter is considered a 4.5-generation fighter. India is satisfied with its past performance and hopes that the locally produced fighters in the future can be equipped with longer-range air-to-ground missiles. At that time, the Indian Air Force’s fighter fleet will consist of Russian-made SU-30MKI fighters, Rafale fighters, and domestically produced Indian fighters.